1. Which of the stories in People of the Book did you find most compelling? Was it a believable history of the Sarajevo Haggadah?
2. Do you think the different chapters, which told different stories, hung together well? Did you like how Brooks revisited Lola's story in the end?
3. Did you connect with Hanna? Did you find her relationships with her mother and Ozren believable? What did they add to the overall story?
4. When Hanna implores Ozren to solicit a second opinion on Alia's condition, he becomes angry and tells her, "Not every story has a happy ending." To what extent do you believe that their perspectives on tragedy and death are cultural? To what extent are they personal?
5. What was it, ultimately, that made Father Vistorini approve the Haggadah? Since Brooks leaves this part of the story unclear, how do you imagine it made its way from his rooms to Sarajevo?
6. Hanna's mother justifies her poor parenting through her feminist ideals. How did you see women's situation change over the years? Do you think Hanna's mothers attitude was necessary to bring about permanent change for women?
7. Was Nura's decision to give Al-Mora to the doctor selfish or a way of looking out for her friend?
8. Do you think the suspenseful ending fit with the rest of the book? Were you surprised by what happened? If you were Hanna, would you have forgiven Ozren?
9. What do you think it is about the real Sarajevo Haggadah that has allowed it to survive the centuries?
1. Which of the stories in People of the Book did you find most compelling? Was it a believable history of the Sarajevo Haggadah?
2. Do you think the different chapters, which told different stories, hung together well? Did you like how Brooks revisited Lola's story in the end?
3. Did you connect with Hanna? Did you find her relationships with her mother and Ozren believable? What did they add to the overall story?
4. When Hanna implores Ozren to solicit a second opinion on Alia's condition, he becomes angry and tells her, "Not every story has a happy ending." To what extent do you believe that their perspectives on tragedy and death are cultural? To what extent are they personal?
5. What was it, ultimately, that made Father Vistorini approve the Haggadah? Since Brooks leaves this part of the story unclear, how do you imagine it made its way from his rooms to Sarajevo?
6. Hanna's mother justifies her poor parenting through her feminist ideals. How did you see women's situation change over the years? Do you think Hanna's mothers attitude was necessary to bring about permanent change for women?
7. Was Nura's decision to give Al-Mora to the doctor selfish or a way of looking out for her friend?
8. Do you think the suspenseful ending fit with the rest of the book? Were you surprised by what happened? If you were Hanna, would you have forgiven Ozren?
9. What do you think it is about the real Sarajevo Haggadah that has allowed it to survive the centuries?